Marking 10 years, PIMA encourages media careers

The Pacific Islands Media Association in New Zealand says encouraging Pacific people to pursue and remain in journalism has been a key focus over the past decade.

PIMA now has close to 100 fully paid members and celebrates its tenth anniversary with a dinner in Auckland tomorrow.

Its chairperson, Iulia Leilua, says while qualifications help, many journalists and freelancers struggle to get work in an increasingly competitive industry.

"One of the biggest things that has come out of PIMA is recognising what the gaps are. And so there are gaps in Pacific media education, gaps in terms of encouraging more Pacific people to take up journalism, because a lot of our people don't really consider journalism as a career."

Iulia Leilua says PIMA also provides opportunities for Pacific journalism practitioners to network and discuss various issues in their work.